Denny Rehberg for Senate

Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today praised the House of Representatives for passing legislation he sponsored with Congressman Fred Upton, Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases – including carbon dioxide, a byproduct of human breathing – as a dangerous pollutant. Yesterday, the U.S. Senate failed to vote to restrict this EPA power grab.

“I promised Montanans I’d fight to undo the damage the Senate did yesterday,” said Rehberg, a member of the Congressional Western Caucus. “This isn’t a battle of left versus right, but of rural versus urban. States like New York and California want to handicap energy-producing states like Montana with a job-killing energy tax designed to increase prices. Even as our economy continues to struggle, a policy to raise energy prices doesn’t make sense anywhere but in Washington, D.C. High prices tipped our economy into recession, and a new energy tax will hamper our economic recovery. ”

As Montana's only congressman, a father, a rancher and above all, an American, I have a responsibility to be honest about the challenges we face and to take bold action to solve them. There is no doubt that we face tremendous challenges in our country. But this is still America, and we've been in tough places before. We must be willing to do the right things even if they're not the easy things.

How did we get here?

The long road to shutdown began a year ago when, for the first time in decades, Congress failed pass a budget. With no blueprint to fund the government, Democrats in the House and Senate failed to pass even one of the 12 spending bills that are due by Sept. 30 each year. Instead, they kicked the can down the road with so-called "Continuing Resolutions," which temporarily keep the government going at current funding levels.

By PHIL DRAKE
Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Montana, said he introduced a bill Monday which would require federal funds identified by state legislatures as unwanted to be used to reduce the federal debt.

His action comes just as the Montana Legislature is working on the state’s spending plan for the next two years. According to state GOP officials, the Legislature has refused just under $100 million in federal funds going into the HB 2 conference committee.

With the price of gas soaring, dependence on foreign oil and other ways to produce energy have been on the minds of citizens lately. Montana's US Representative Denny Rehberg, made a stop in Black Eagle Friday morning to learn how the higher prices are affecting the local economy.

It's not a sight you see every day, a US Congressman pumping gas, but that's exactly what Representative Rehberg did. It is part of his "All of the Above Energy Tour" to promote and explore the energy industry in Montana.

By talking with people at the pump, Rehberg says he learns about sacrifices citizens have to make.

GREAT FALLS- U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg made his last pit stop on a state-wide energy tour at a Great Falls gas station on Friday.

The Republican Congressman spent the morning pumping gas for local residents and talking to them about gas prices.

After a tour of facilities that produce biofuels, coal, wind, and solar power this week, Rehberg says the last stop shows where energy efforts will have the biggest effect - the gas pump.

Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., on Friday wrapped up a statewide tour he said was prompted by House Speaker John Boehner's request for a comprehensive energy policy.

After talking to residents across Montana, Rehberg, who has announced his intent to challenge for Democrat Jon Tester's Senate seat, gained firsthand experience about the cost of fuel at Mountain View Co-op's Smelter Avenue convenience store by pumping gasoline for constituents during the morning rush.

"That's a big tank," Rehberg said to Eileen Gallagher, who was driving a mid-size SUV.